Iberian firm Garrigues has retained the top spot in The Lawyer’s European 100 2013, but firms from Germany and Norway have produced the strongest financial results in an increasingly divided European market. Garrigues, with revenue of €337.6m (30 October 2012), and second-placed Fidal, which brought in €317.7m in 2012 (13 March 2013), are still the only independent firms in Europe turning over more than €300m.However the best performances on the Continent came from firms in Germany and Norway. While German firms Noerr and Gleiss Lutz are still ninth and tenth in the rankings, both increased their turnover last year with Gleiss now making an estimated €158.5m and Noerr €170m.Further down the rankings, Norwegian firm Schjødt produced the strongest revenue rise of 14 per cent. Germany’s Kappellmann & Partner’s revenues, meanwhile, rose by 12 per cent.Overall, Germany is still the Continent’s largest legal market, with German firms in the European 100 collectively turning over nearly €1.5bn in 2012. No other jurisdiction breaks through the €1bn mark.The report also shows that across Europe many fims have stalled hiring programmes due to the eurozone crisis, with headcount in many firms staying stable or falling in 2012. Leverage is also falling slightly with more firms bringing all partners into the equity - and more have disclosed equity breakdown this year than ever before.The full European 100 packed with news and analysis on the leading European firms can be found here: The Lawyer European 100

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